“my mind grows dirty while my clothes get clean”

well, i think i may have figured out why i had that rash problem. maybe. this evening i did some laundry, and when i went to get it something didn’t look/feel right. the laundry was still loose instead of being against the wall, and it felt like the stuff at top was not that wet while the stuff further down was really wet. i started a cycle and sat and watched it, and sure enough when it got to the part where it should start agitating…nothing. then when it should have started spinning…nothing. so something is wrong with the motor. belt, fuse, dead…don’t know. everything else seems to work. anyway, the fact that the clothes weren’t really washed and rinsed right might explain the rash (i.e., lots of detergent on certain clothes).
luckily, when i moved here i had a washer and dryer. they’ve just been sitting in the garage. so i moved the current washer over and put mine in place. i hooked it up and then ran a full cycle of warm water through it with bleach. everything seemed to still work on it. so now i’m re-doing the load of laundry i’d already done in the broken washer.
last night i rented the 99 cent movie from itunes, venice, venice by henry jaglom. i don’t think i’ve seen any of his films before. the review or two on itunes were negative, but i looked on imdb and it was more positive so i rented it. i’m glad i did. half the movie was filmed in venice, italy, because he was going there for the venice film festival for an earlier movie and decided to take the opportunity to film something there. and he’s the main character. it’s completely a character- and dialogue-driven film. utterly. but i found the dynamics and views of the characters interesting, and enjoyed the thoughts. there is a lot about reality versus perception: in the film itself, between characters in the film, in “interviews” with women in the film, and ultimately in our own lives. one of the biggest themes is how relationships in movies affect our perspective of what relationships in real life should be like. it sounds like he likes to be very free-form about the writing, and lets actors ad lib a lot. i’m interested to see some of his other stuff now. fortunately, one of the 99 cent movies for this week is another jaglom film, eating. which was released before venice, venice. eating sounds like it has to do with the way women view eating, and how it compares to relationships. (not sure if he always has that angle, or i just happened to hit two where that seems to be a very relevant and important theme.)
the last two or three weeks, every few days i’ve had a dream that i recall when i wake up (or wake up having just had). they aren’t the same, but there’s a theme. the first one was a very, very good dream involving a previous coworker (i won’t give the name, but it’s not the hrc). i’ll let your mind run about what “very, very good” means. the next involved tamara, and while it was better than i’d expect any interaction with us to be, there was still a lot of apprehension and tension in the dream, and i woke up feeling somewhat uncomfortable and frustrated. the third dream involved the hrc. i ran into her in front of a downtown building and she tried to ignore me. i kept talking to her until she started talking to me, then she would flip between being nice / fair / friendly / affectionate and being distant and rude. plus everyone walking by was looking at us. i woke up and was feeling pretty frustrated. at this point i wondered who the next dream would be about, and how bad it might be (since the trend was obviously going more and more negative). well, the fourth dream was the hrc again. this time i was with a couple of co-workers and we ran into her. again at a downtown building. my co-workers were talking to her, but she kept being snide to me and saying hurtful stuff. i was pretty perturbed in the dream too. the co-workers seemed unsure how to handle themselves. when i woke up from that one, i was pretty flustered. again, i wondered what the next dream might be, and how it might get worse. well, this morning i woke from having a dream. this one was actually fairly positive. i was at some kind of festival and i met a couple of girls. they were trying to find something, and i used my phone to help show them where they were and give them directions. they were with a couple of guys, but the guys didn’t want to wait so they walked off. we were sort of flirting (which i don’t really do, but it’s a dream), and when they went to leave one of them and i kissed. that was a much better way to wake up than my last few dreams on this theme. i wonder if the theme has run its course?
“there’s a girl washing her clothes
i’m in love by nobody knows
she looks sixteen or seventeen
my mind grows dirty while my clothes get clean
she’s so young and tall
i’m gonna give her my all…or borax”
  –“laundromat song” by the dead milkmen from big lizard in my backyard